Generally, tumorous tissue within an organ such as the liver is either treated via a non-surgical method or surgical method.
Examples of common non-surgical treatment methods include transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), percutaneous ethanol injection therapy (PEIT), systemic chemotherapy, partial heat treatment (local thermotherapy). Among these treatment methods, partial heat treatment is known as the most effective.
Partial heat treatment includes RFA (radio frequency ablation) (including microwave ablation), laser ablation, and the like, and among them, thermal treatment using RF waves (including high frequency and microwave) is favored by doctors or patients because it is considered to be the most effective treatment.
According to RFA, it is unnecessary to remove part of an organ such a liver to treat tumorous tissue therein. That is, tumorous tissue can be selectively cauterized by using heat generated by RF waves (including high frequency and microwave).
In an electrode device for RFA, an electrode line and a coolant line are connected to a grip base to supply RF waves and coolant, and an electrode needle is coupled to the front side of the grip base. The electrode needle of the electrode device is inserted into a lesion such as tumorous tissue within an organ, and if RF waves are supplied from an RF generator to the electrode needle, a conductive part of the electrode receives the RF waves while an insulating part of the electrode needle does not receive the RF waves. Then, the lesion is cauterized by heat generated due to the RF waves.
A single electrode needle or a plurality of non-separable electrode needles are coupled to the grip base. When the size of a lesion is small, a single electrode needle is usually used, while when the size of a lesion is large, a plurality of electrode needles are used. However, when lesions are scattered, additional electrode needles are necessary.
Therefore, there is a need for an electrode device including a grip base that can be separated into parts to which electrode needles are respectively coupled so that the electrode device can be used in various states according to the size and scattering of lesions.